I saw this quote once that said, "She packed up her potential and all that she had learned, grabbed a cute pair of shoes and headed out to change a few things." Well I guess that's what I did! I'm living in a small, lovely town in Honduras teaching English for the next year, and here are my stories. I've thought of this more as an online journal, and less of entertainment for family and friends, but I hope you enjoy! Thanks for sharing with me in this adventure...

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Sunday with the neighbors

Oh Sunday on the lake. Lots of time in a hammock. I´m getting all relaxy just thinking about it! It´s been a while ago now, but we still talk about it with lots of joy. The friendliness of our neighborhood block is something special. We have gotten really close with a few of the families, and Edwin and Yamilet have had us over for dinner, to their mom´s lake house and for a road trip to the beach! It has, of course, been a while ago now, but Maryann, Irene and I were invited to Yami's mom's lake house one Sunday afternoon. We headed out early morning, a little later than planned due to a little rain delay, but all packed into the truck and drove the hour or so to a little spot called Arca de Cristo or Kid's Ark. Kid's Ark is a beautiful park opened by a guy named Randy who lives in Florida, but spends a good chunk of time travelling between the two countries. A friend of ours, Josias, is Randy's right-hand and helps with any retreats or other events held there. There are two reliable options to get to the lake house. You can either row a boat from one side of the lake to the little nook where her mom's property is, or you can hike from Kid's Ark. The rowing is I'm sure beautiful, but I love the walk. I have been back a few times since this first trip, and it is always a great time.

Yami with her mommy!

the drive out there is sandwiched with the prettiest views--love it!

Her mom's house was simple but wonderful, surrounded by nature at its finest. Various types of crazy tropical fruit trees, including rows of coconut trees, and sprinkles of bright, beautiful flowers. The kids had a great time running around and playing, and I did not hesitate to take advantage of some relaxation time. The hammocks were cozy and the breeze was perfectly timed! Abuelita (Yami's mom :) had a HUGE pot of chicken yucca soup, but we all started with a few slices of watermelon. Ah yes--the hike is beautiful, and I really enjoy every step, but having to carry all the food you anticipate craving throughout the day has me very thankful for strong, eager to help, young neighbor children. Their two sons, Andy and Mauri, keep us smiling all afternoon watching them race bikes and goof off around the neighborhood, and I'm pretty sure they each toted a watermelon down to the lake for us that day. I toted Abram, their handsome tiernito, and he was way more fun than some melon.

Andy and his cute smile!

A few of Yami's nieces and nephew's joined us for the day, and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy bringing me different fruit and telling me all about them. We climbed a ciruela tree, and were told we could eat them even though they were green. Those things were bitter! But here they like to eat unripened fruit with a little spiced salt, in case anyone back home wants to give that a try! I've since had a ripe ciruela, and you can absolutely taste a difference.

the boys showing off cacao fruit...that's a crazy one!

cacao!

zapote! Some people say it tastes like pumpkin pie...it has an odd taste and consistency, but proper ripeness helps both of those work out for tasty.

Before we left Edwin took us to harvest a little yucca. I am pretty sure we wasn't expecting us to actually harvest, but mostly just wanted to show us the plant and how it all works. Irene and I are too fun for that! We each had a go at it, and it was so tough but I am happy to be able to say I've done it! I worry for the men who harvest yucca all day long, but I definitely appreciate their hard work. Yucca is just too tasty. Although I learned if you try hard enough, it is something you can burn yourself out on! We had a coconut feast while we geared up for the hike back to the truck. Edwin was so patient hacking into coconut after coconut. I learned there are yellow coconuts, and brown coconuts. I have heard different stories on the differences, but the most common is that the brown have been given time to dry. The water in a yellow coconut is quite tasty, but the liquid in a brown coconut is more like coconut milk--que rico! Makes me think of hot yoga and how refreshing it would be to hack into a coconut after a long, steamy session. The fruit in the yellow goes is more like a jelly, but the brown ones is the hard, white meat they shred and bag to sell in stores. And it is so stinkin tasty. Yum now I'm craving coconut.

Edwin doing work!

so excited! It is like a mini earthquake the way the whole ground shakes when you're pulling it out! I honestly thought it grew sort of like a carrot...a root attached to a bunch of green leaves. Way off dude!

Irene even held a baby for the first time!

The walk to the truck felt a little longer than the morning's venture to the lake, but I think the shoulder full of yucca had something to do with that! Abuelita sent me home with a bag full of henny penny eggs (or brown, fresh from the hen eggs if you're not my mother, brother or grandfather and don't get that reference!) and Maryann was kind enough to carry them gently, without breaking a single one! You know, it is too easy to get hard on myself for not being better about promptly posting, but it can be so fun to reminisce about all the little details about the mini adventures I've been able to enjoy. I love that spot on the lake. The neighbors and I have already discussed that before I leave we need to spend at least a night or two there. And that at some point, even if I'm old and gray, I'll need to come and spend a chunk of time there. No electricity, no indoor plumbing, hoards of fruit trees, exploding flowers and a view that makes your knees weak. Already looking forward to our next trip out there!

I don't have many pictures of the flowers there, so that's something to work on, but that purple plant you see? That's one of the things that I think called me back down here in the beginning. It is one of the most incredible shades of color I have ever seen exist in creation.

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was greater than the risk it took to bloom. --Anais Nin

Faith is to believe that which you do not yet see; and the reward of this faith is to see that which you believe. --Saint Augustine of Hippo

Live today. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Just today. Inhabit your moments. Don't rent them out to tomorrow. --Jerry Spinelli

Be careful of your moods and feelings, for there is an unbroken connection between your feelings and your visible world. --Neville Goddard

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. --Albert Schweitzer

What we feel, think and do this moment influences both our present and the future in ways we may never know. Begin. Start right where you are. Consider your possibilities and find inspiration...to add more meaning and zest to your life. --Alexandra Stoddard

You may win the fight, because you're good [with words], but that doesn't make you right. --Beth Moore quoting her husband

God doesn't care if your thighs are getting chubby, that's just more of you to serve him. --Irene :)

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation. -- Isaiah 52:7

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and strainging forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. --Phil 3:12-16

It is one steady invasion, and [the cares of this world] will come in like a flood, unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the banner against it. --Oswald Chambers

Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. --Joshua 1:9

Like water be gentle and strong. Be gentle enough to follow the natural paths of the earth, and strong enough to rise up and reshape the world. --Brenda Peterson

When I slow down long enough to smell the roses, I usually see the beauty and all else that is ours to share. --Morgan Jennings

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. --Melody Beattie

Nature is a giver, a true friend and sustainer. --Yogi tea

Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. --Cicely Tyson

Every now and again take a good look at something not made with hands-a mountain, a star, the turn of a stream. There will come to you wisdom and patience and solace and, above all, the assurance that you are not alone in the world. --Sidney Lovett

Delight the world with your compassion, kindness and grace. --Yogi tea

The clever dolphin, in spite of tuna nets, seems to celebrate all day long. --Barbara Holland

Promise me you'll always remember: you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. --Christoper Robin

Embrace the ordinary with enchantment. --Yola Perkins

The world is grand, awfully big and astonishingly beautiful, frequently thrilling. --Dorothy Kilgallen

If you want to keep your memories, you first have to live them. --Bob Dylan

Wake butterfly, it's late and we've miles to go together. --Basho

Always be pure, simple and honest. --Yogi tea

One never knows what each day is going to bring. The important thing is to be open and ready for it. --Henry Moore (1st quote I put on the fridge en la casa rosada :)

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. --John Burroughs

As you begin to pay attention to your own stories and what they say about you, you will enter into the exciting process of becoming, as you should be, the author of your own life, the creator of your own possibilities. --Mandy Aftel

Things I've Learned

The days of the week all end in 'day' ...which according to Eric means once it is nighttime it is Monnight, Tuesnight, Wedsnight etc.

I now have so many nicknames I wouldn´t know what to put on the back of a jersey. New favorite, coined by Pastor Alfonso´s sister-in-law: la grindia. The gringa who is apparently becoming more indio (native Honduran) every day. Gracias!

It´s hard not to join in when a small child erupts in joyous laughter.

You don´t have to be a registered nurse to help educate young mothers on caring for their families.

Hiking with your neighbors is great fun. Especially if they have a sweet baby, and energetic boys who love to make you laugh.

Yucca grows as the root of a tall bush or small tree, depending who you ask. Silly confession, but I always thought it grew almost like a carrot. You should see the earth around it move when you start to pull it out.

Second graders still give really good hugs.

The school day can be draining, but right now nothing beats afternoons with the girls. Snacking on fruit or something more dessertish, usually sipping some coffee and laughing chatting about all sorts of things.

Who says you can´t make a mango road food? Apparently you can peel them almost like a banana. A delicious discovery.

I've been described as "La Gringota" when someone couldn't place my name! What's disturbing: the person to whom he was explaining instantly made the connection!

You can now find brown rice at La Familia II which is walking distance from La Casa Rosada!!! The cashier had no idea what it was, but I made sure she knew how excited I was that they're carrying it, and how important it is that they continue to keep it on their shelves.

Sweet potatoes are cheaper by the pound than regular potatoes. I think that's just their way of showing they're all around better than the regular potato.

'Compost Happens' made it on a t-shirt. And said t-shirt made its way to a kind-faced Honduran woman. It would have been cool to take her picture, but I couldn't figure out how to tactfully ask.

The 7th graders are starting to learn to play the recorder, though they're calling it a flute, and the school yard sounds like a renaissance festival!

"Cohetes" which means rockets but refers to fire crackers, are incredibly popular this time of year. They sound alarmingly similar to firearms.

Pacaya is quite possibly the oddest vegetable I've ever been blessed with experiencing.

Tamale making is quite the process! And banana leaves stain your hands a funny color. But making tamales with Mari is a great way to spend a day!

You can buy a 6-mo old lamb for about 500 limpira. And I don't mean to take home as a pet, but skinned, drained and ready to quarter. If you're friendly enough you can meet lamby's family, or as I call them 'the ones who got away.'

The weather is unpredictable, which brings memories of Blacksburg, but the sun feels great on your skin in December. Sweet, warm sunshine.

Dude sporting the shirt saying "I'm the kid your parents warned you about" may not know what it means, but the look in his eyes made me wonder if it wasn't true.

Cinder blocks, firewood and a sheet of metal make up a surprising amount of the stoves I've seen. While they produce creamy, slow-cooked beans and deliciously smokey, crunchy tortillas, I can't imagine having to start a fire each time I wanted to cook.

It is cold in the mountains this time of year. It is also wet and muddy, but the views are spectacular and the people are ever friendly.

Before hitting a piñata you not only get blindfolded, you get spins for your age to the right and then again to the left. I guess I understand why adults don't have piñatas as commonly, but I still find them exciting.

There is a bakery in Santa Cruz with friendly owners and delicious orejitas.

Honey comb has an interesting, waxy consistency, but it makes for a fun snack when you need a sugar fix.

People decorate big, festive Christmas trees. They use big tufts of shiny ribbon, huge ornaments and other glittery adornments. They look so pretty with the twinkle of the lights. Some houses have their trees on the porch which makes evening walks even more fun.

I might be able to buy leafy greens from a local organic farm school. We should go ahead and celebrate the fact that a local organic farm school exists!

Mornings and evenings can get right chilly down here. My toes have turned to ice cubes on more than one occasion, and I find myself filled with desire for hot water.

There are rarely enough hours in the day.

Going months without a glass of wine helps you appreciate every last sip of that first glass.

They put their own twist on fruit cake, and it is pretty tasty. Like a spice cake with chunks of that strange candied fruit.

A student's parents have a restaurant on the lake and they make some good eats. Their view is incredible (lake, mountains, gaping sky) and the coffee rich.

Papaya purchasing is basically a crapshoot. You can't judge books by their covers, and you can't judge papayas by their rinds. Or peels, or whatever they're called...outsides!

Some sayings like "Lights, Camera, Action!" exist in Honduras. A shy-gal during show and tell had Cristian shouting (with hand motions!) "Luz, camera, accion!"

Tajadas aren't easy to come by in Guatemala, but the mojarra is riquisima.

I've made it clear how much I love chimol, and I really do appreciate the relative simplicity of Honduran food. But Puerto Rican sofrito is yumdiddly. Thanks, Angeles!

While my thankful list is growing and growing this year, it was rough missing my family's celebration.

Things like hot springs really do exist! And if you can make it through the sulfuric aroma they are pretty incredible. Especially when you're sharing the space with an elderly woman who looks as though she's finally relaxed after all these years.

There is power in prayer.

There's a reason I changed my eating habits and was feeling so great for so long in the States. My health would appreciate it if the same practices were respected no matter my address.

My Spanish is strong enough that I can pass more than an hour sharing funny and/or embarrassing stories with a group of Hondurans--an activity which is apparently common at get togethers around here. I don't miss cable.

There's something so calming about nature. Maybe it's realizing the miraculousness of it all and gaining new perspective on the world around us.

Every time you ease into a nice, hot shower it would be good to say a little thank you to whomever you believe in. Especially if the pressure is good and your towel is fluffy.

Subbing for first grade reading can be fun! Or am I the only one who likes to sound out words and blends? My kids can get "over it" a little too quickly for my liking, but (most of) these kids stayed with me the whole time!

Power outages can lead to some pretty blah breakfasts and packed lunches. In brighter news, snagging a little chimol from the cafeteria (thanks guys!) brings new life to your otherwise boring beans, avocado, tortillas and verduras crudas.

First year teaching can be rough, but I'm of course appreciative of all the lessons I am able to learn.

Exhaustedly writing blog posts, no matter how excited I am about the material, is apparently not a good idea. I just noticed lots o errors in a few posts, so please forgive my grammatical mishaps. And to think they let me teach!

The farm-fresh eggs I've been buying are from a hormone using hen farm :( What the flip. Soon after this discovery I met a woman with ground-pecking hens, who is going to sell me her eggs and they're actually a few limps less than the juiced up eggs!

Everyone loves a parade!

In early Septemeber a teary-eyed barroncito confessed to me that he couldn't read English. Here we are end of October and he about separated his shoulder anxiously volunteering to read aloud in class. Over, and over and over again. He even earned a sticker for his valiant efforts, and sparked a trend with a few other shy guys!

It really is true that if something is important enough you'll make time for it, and it's important not to lose sight of the fact that you hold the power to prioritize your day.

Lots of Hondurans toast their own coffee beans, and they toast them with pieces of dulce de caña...early Saturday morning walks to the market sometimes lead to gifts of bolsitas of a friend's home-toasted grinds. Que rico...

I find Sponge Bob just as annoying here as I did in the States. In tutoring we read a story about Jill and her dog Bob. E v e r y time we said Bob one of my gems would completely unnecessarily shout "Esponja!" (sponge) and it took great patience to maintain composure.

Manzanilla (chamomile) is a frequent gift from Doris, and I've started working cups of tea into my coffee rotation. Tea is good and all, but something about coffee leaves me so satisfecha.

A vegan family exists in Honduras! Right here in town actually. And they spent a good bit of years in Alexandria, VA. And the husband has a natural health center. AND he's willing to let me apprentice while I'm here! He also has mountain property, an orchard of fruit trees, the starting of an organic farm and a wife who loves to cook delicious vegetarian meals.

It is always good to keep one eye on the road when walking around town, as cars make drastic swerves to pass each other and dodge around pedestrians. This concentration can make for difficult multitasking. In Maryann's case, it is best to finish your cupcake inside the newly found bakery. Deciding to enjoy it while you walk, well that might lead to a face-down cupcake top, and a frown-inducing waste of deliciously tangy icing.

It always pays to know somebody who knows somebody. Especially when that somebody knows somebody who makes and sells ridiculously good hand-rolled corn tortillas.

Your students care about you just as much as you care about them. Like when you sound a little under the weather while you're teaching, and a sweetie tells you, "Teacher you really shouldn't come to school if your throat hurts." Thanks Angie, I'll keep that in mind next time!

Mandarinas can be face-squishing bitter (just ask Melvin Martinez!) or deliciously sweet. I tend to enjoy them either way, they seem to be in season now and Don Antonio loves to share.

Creative outlets like paint, paper, scissors, glitter and beads do wonders for stress relief and distractive therapy. They're also good tools for parent/child bonding in pre and post-op hospital salas de espera.

Lightning can be so bright it's almost blinding. The sky lights up over the mountains with a loud crack and electric flashes. Makes porch-sitting storm-watching so much fun.

Rain comes on fast and hard. It doesn't always last very long, and it brings this awesomely cool air with it. But it rains hard.

Trees around the lake are covered in parasites, but they add incredible character and make them look so pretty.

The Mexican at the market swears I look German. Seriously?

The way fog rises off the mountains is like something out of a movie. It makes them look even more 3D like you can see every nook and cranny.

Roosters don't save their crowing for daybreak. Kiri-kiri-kis (the honduran cock-a-doodle-doo) can be heard all hours of the day. The middle of the nighters are the most fun. I'm threatening to start eating chicken again.

Almost everything at the market tastes great with eggs--just ask them!

Ironically, I found out that lemons do not exist here. And what they call lemons are actually limes. What a fun discovery! So limes are green. But oranges don't turn orange. They still taste good!

Never assume that an orange should be orange or a lemon yellow. The orange trees in my yard bear green, delicious fruit. I heard lots of laughter when I pointed and asked how much for the limes. The vendor assures me they are lemons.

Wrapped around your leg hugs from lots of second graders do wonders for your morning.

Toilet paper should not be an expectation. If you're needy I'd keep some in your purse. Or think of it as the next step to going green?

Coffee beans get their best flavor when roasted in the sun. I see this process done most often with the beans shoveled over an area that doubles as a parking lot.

You can eat the fruit from coffee trees. The pit is a naked coffee bean, which comes out looking slimy and gross. The fruit is sweet though!

Lisa makes tasty pumpkin bread,

Breakfasts or packed lunches thrown together during a power outage are generally pretty blah. Sneak a little chimol from the cafeteria to mix in with your perfectly creamy avocado? Well that can make beans, tortillas and small chopped raw veggies taste fantastic!

First year teaching can be quite the struggle, but I am of course happy to be learning so many lessons.